Unoccupied Space (Patreon)

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In this video, two LMA practitioners are pretending to juggle—keeping their bodies soft so the imaginary balls don't bounce off their hands. They're also setting the pace for the rest of their practice, which is slow and easy. Their gaze is relaxed—not tracking the balls but resting steadily on the unoccupied space in front of them, allowing the imaginary balls to pass through their field of vision. Soften the body, steady the gaze, and let your perception capture the environment.

In art and design, unoccupied space—or the space between objects—is called negative space. Negative space can become its own object; for instance, the space between two faces can take the shape of a vase. Emptiness can take a shape and keep changing form. Perceiving the changing shape of emptiness is to perceive opportunities for movement.

From a Daoist perspective, nothing is always something. In fact, the nothing often matters more than the thing itself. A barrel is useful and only becomes a barrel because of the empty space inside; likewise, for a room. A sound frequency becomes communication through the silences between. By perceiving the nothing, we can better sense the environment and situation. When I want the general gist of the layout or situation, I look at nothing.

It's a difficult practice, but if you can perceive nothing, you can see everything. When I look at the space between me and my partner, I can see not only my partner but also our shared environment. I don't have to track their hands, feet, head, or eyes. I can see it all. If I can focus on the empty space in the room, I can perceive the room and its possibilities. LMA's Wayfinding is about perceiving occupied and unoccupied space and moving through unoccupied space and around occupied space.

This is useful not just in martial arts but in all movement practices. LMA is meant to support all movement—not by adding more technique, but by helping you sense more of what's already there.

– Sam